The Blog

The Pakistan Policy Blog (TTPB), created in August 2007 by Arif Rafiq (bio below), provides a regular, critical perspective on Pakistan’s domestic and foreign affairs.

Its goals are to:

• stimulate discourse on policies furthering a prosperous, progressive, and secure Pakistan,
• and bridge the gap between the U.S. and Pakistani policy communities.

The TPPB, featured in the Online Journalism Review, has a loyal readership within the policy and intelligence communities and media in the United States, western Europe, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

Arif Rafiq Bio

Arif Rafiq is president of Vizier Consulting, LLC, which provides strategic guidance on Middle East and South Asian political and security issues.  Previously, he worked for the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution and public relations firms Ruder Finn and Burson-Marsteller, and wrote speeches for a head of state in the Middle East.

Rafiq’s commentary has been appeared in a number of print and web publications, including the Christian Science Monitor, Daily Beast, ForeignPolicy.com, The Diplomat,  The National Interest, and World Politics Review.  He has been quoted by the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and a number of international publications. A regular guest on the John Batchelor Show, Rafiq has also appeared on Al Jazeera English, the BBC World Service, and WNYC’s The Takeaway. An active Twitter user, he was named by Foreign Policy in 2011 as one of the FP Twitterati 100.

Rafiq received an MA in Arab studies from Georgetown University and speaks Arabic and Urdu. He resides in the Washington, DC area.

Media Inquiries

Rafiq regularly speak to members of the U.S. and international press.

Journalists and producers can contact him at: +1 (202) 713-5897/arif dot rafiq at gmail.com (or click here).